


The Wedding Date AU

by Joudie



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2018-11-07 03:43:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11050617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joudie/pseuds/Joudie
Summary: Ginny Baker hires Mike Lawson, a male escort, to pose as her boyfriend at Cara’s (her sister’s) wedding in order to dupe her ex-fiancé, Trevor Davis, who dumped her a few years prior.





	1. Chapter 1

     “Hi, this is Ginny Baker. Leave a message and I’ll call you back.” 

     “ _Hi, Ginny. This is Mike Lawson,_ ” his deep voice on her machine echoed around the Omni, pressing into her, anchoring her in place. “ _Sorry I didn’t get back to you last night, but I got your messages._ ” Ginny grimaced. “ _All seven of them,_ ” he sighed then continued, “ _I know you’re nervous, Ginny, but this is what I get paid for. I’m running late so I sent my friend, Salvi, to pick up my ticket. I trust him._ ” Here he paused. “ _Ginny, stop worrying. Your ex-fiance will wish he never left you and your family will think we’re in love. Trust me. I’ll see you at the airport. Can’t wait to meet you._ ”

     Ginny stared at herself in the mirror, her toothbrush poised just over her mouth. She could not believe she had to go to such extreme measures just to get her family off her back. For the millionth time that day, she silently berated herself for what was surely about to be a disaster. She did not have enough time to go over her plan, however, when the doorbell rang. That must be Mike’s friend. She finished brushing her teeth briskly then went to retrieve Mike’s ticket before going to open the door. She did her research on Mike, called a few of her friends for a background check on him as well as read all his articles. Truth be told, the fact that he was a sports journalist is what swayed her choice. Being a retired sports agent was what solidified him as her number one choice. Despite her confidence at the time, now that the inevitable day had finally arrived, she was less certain. Nonetheless, she was looking forward to finding out more about this Mike Lawson.

     When she opened the door, she came face to face with who she assumed was Salvi. Although she wanted to ask Salvi a million questions about Mike, they all vacated her head when she greeted the handsome man on the other side of her door. “So sorry. I wasn’t quite ready.” She gestured to the envelope. “It’s a plane ticket,” Ginny knew she was rambling but God, she just couldn’t stop. “For a date. My date. Mike. For my sister’s wedding, in South Texas.”

     Salvi reached for the ticket, lips pressed into a tight smile which disappeared the longer she kept her grip on the ticket. “Ms. Baker, you need to let go.”

     Ginny knew there was no way that Salvi did not recognize who she was. She was not certain if he knew her as Mike’s new client or if he knew her as the first female major league player. Either way, for some inconceivable reason, Ginny believed that he would not utter a single word about this to the media or anyone. But perceiving that trust and actually acknowledging it in this setting were two completely different things. “You’re gonna have to help me,” she told him, rather sheepishly.

     When Salvi plucked the ticket from her hands and escaped (probably thinking she would hunt him down), she tried her best to calm her nerves.

     Yet she couldn't help herself when she went to her closet to open a small, neglected box of memories that Ginny wished she could dispose of or at the very least forget about. She took out the pictures first. Of her and Trevor back in San Antonio together, in the minors. They looked happy and in love, completely engulfed in their own little world. Next, she rummaged around for the velvet box. She barely had a chance to look at the engagement ring before she got choked up and snapped the case and hauled the box back into the depths of her closet.

     When Ginny finally got to the airport, while she was checking in her bags, she got a call from Amelia. Her publicist has always had the worst timing, except maybe for this particular moment, Ginny was sure this was some sign for her not to go through with the plan. Immediately upon answering, Amelia started speaking as if she was continuing a previous conversation. (She probably was. At this point, Ginny was about to crack at how tight of a leash Amelia had on her and she was definitely not keeping track of their arguments on various matters.)

     “I’m just saying, no one has ever met this Mike person. I know he’s squeaky clean, because I checked his record--”

     Ginny choked out a “ _what?!_ ” even though she did as well. It was completely different.

     “But it was thoroughly clean,” Amelia went on as if she didn’t hear Ginny (she probably didn't, seeing as if all talk of privacy and boundaries went over her publicist’s head). “I just can't comprehend why you haven’t told me you were seeing anyone. I know this is your off-season and you wanna relax with this Mike person, but Ginny… we can’t take our foot off the pedal right now.”

     “Amelia! I’m finally taking a break. I’m not working. I’m going to my sister’s wedding with my, uh, boyfriend. You’ll have to survive without me. Take a break yourself, you sure need to unwind a little.”

     “But, Ginny, you can’t just drop off the face of the earth for a week. People want to know what you’re doing.”

     “Fine, I’ll upload a picture to twitter and instagram when I get to Texas.”

     “One with your boyfriend,” Ginny rolled her eyes at that. “We also have to map out your appearance schedule.”

     “Amelia!” Ginny said again, exasperated. “I haven’t seen my family in two years and my flight leaves in 15 minutes.” She had half a mind to blurt out that she was about to meet Mike for the first time and see if that would shut her up. Thankfully she didn't need to resort to such drastic measures because Amelia finally relented. With Amelia’s well wishes, Ginny checked in her bags and went up to the small airplane.


	2. Chapter 2

     “Your first trip?” A woman dressed in business attire, on the middle aisle seat of the airplane said in concern, startling Ginny out of her partial panic attack.

     Ginny looked up from the flight safety brochure that she was studying thoroughly and smiled warmly at her. “My sister’s getting married and one of the groomsmen is my ex,” she explained. “If I chicken out, I wanna know where the exits are.”

     The woman looked as if she regretted talking to Ginny when her smile twisted into a frown and she turned forward in her seat.

     Ginny was just about getting over her jitters (for goodness sake, she doesn't remember being this nervous when she was called up to the majors a year ago!) when she suddenly sprang up from her seat and went to the back of the airplane. A steward raised his eyebrow in alarm at her when she snatched a glass of water off his tray and promptly consumed half of it. When she was confident that his taken aback expression was aimed at her lack of manners and not because of who she was, she assured him, “I’m not a knuckler, I fly all the time.” She took another sip to calm herself. “The reason I can’t feel my legs is that any second my date is gonna sit down in 3B and I need him to look _really_ good today.” Even though she was certain he did not know who she was, Ginny still tried to censor how much she told him.

     “Hello, 3B,” he commented appreciatively (more than Ginny would have liked, if she was being honest) when he glanced at the aforementioned seat.

     Ginny turned slowly, bracing and preparing herself for her first glimpse of Mike in real life and not on magazine covers. There he stood, in the place she deserted merely two minutes before with his back towards her. He was easily 6 feet tall to her 5 feet and 6 inch frame. When he turned around, she noticed that he wore a fitted blue button down that encompassed his build nicely, as well as contrasted his appealing hazel eyes, she thought admiringly. He was even more charming in person. The only complaint she had was for his beard ( _he looked like a cousin from Duck Dynasty_ ).

     “Hey,” Ginny addressed him softly, covertly trying to check him out.

     “Ginny Baker, in the flesh,” Mike teased her. When she blushed, Mike tried to make her less awkward by suggesting they sit. He occupied the seat right behind her. Despite Ginny wanting everyone to think she was his girlfriend and not his client, she did not particularly feel comfortable enough to sit so close near a stranger on a 2 and a half hour flight.

     Mike reached into his carry-on bag and extracted a large document. However legit his side business was, for whatever reason, Mike Lawson made all his clients sign NDAs. Being the most famous woman in the world (a fact that Ginny really wanted to forget; she just finished her first season and she was astonished about the attention she was still receiving. She had to wonder when the hype surrounding her would finally pipe down. If Amelia had anything to do with it, Ginny guessed never.) Ginny was not careless enough to not make Mike sign an NDA of her own. She made sure to have Oscar, her sports agent, draft it and Elliot, her social media manager, look over it. The only two people in on this ridiculous scheme of hers.

     “I should tell you,” Ginny started, “I’ve read everything you’ve ever posted. You’ve been my favourite sports journalist since I was--”

     “Yeah, don’t,” Mike interrupted. “Makes you look stupid, makes me feel old,” he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

     After a brief awkward silence, Ginny went on, “I’m glad you found it okay. The airport… the plane, I mean,” she stuttered, desperately trying to curb her unease with this whole plan.

     “I’m sorry we couldn’t leave sooner,” he apologized, assuming that was the reason Ginny was on edge. “I know you wanted to get settled before the party.”

     Keeping the conversation going, Ginny said, rather unintentionally, “Work must be crazy.” The minute the words were out of her mouth, Ginny wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. Going for nonchalance was out the airplane window. Ginny turned around so not to open her mouth and put her foot in it.

     When she couldn't take the silence anymore, she turned back to Mike and said, “Oh, I should warn you. You know those families where everyone’s out of their mind, but they’re your family so you love them?” She looked at him intently, then shook her head, “Mine’s not like that. You know about what happened with my Pops,” everyone in the sports world knew about her father’s death therefore it was not unexpected that he simply nodded for her to go on. She decided to describe her family now, seeing as they won’t be able to get a chance to do it before he was going to be introduced. “Well, my mom remarried. She married _Kevin._ My sister’s not absolutely terrible but we don't get along often. I love my brother though. He’s supported me my whole life,” additionally, this was knowledge expected from sports journalists as she had talked on-air countless times of the grueling but appreciated training her Pops set her on and her gratefulness for Will’s reassuring presence.

     Having Will as her main support for all those years was no small blessing. Now the two of them are living out her dream. Well, her dad’s dream. At any rate, she was entirely indebted for the amount of time and effort that Will had graciously given to build up her career as well as her brand after their father’s death. He was the only family she was excited to see.

     Satisfied with the insight she provided, Ginny bounced back in her chair, and settled in for a tedious flight.


	3. Chapter 3

     Apparently sensing her nerves on the cab ride, Mike looked at Ginny. “I know how important this is for you, Baker. But remember, you’re a beautiful woman and you’ve got everything going for you.” Ginny just gave him a tight, grateful nod with her lips pressed together and fidgeted with her dress.

     Upon arrival, Ginny stayed frozen which prompted Mike to turn to face her fully in the cramped cab. When she reached over to open the door, she supposedly changed her mind and instead pushed the lock on the door. “I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispered, (to herself, to Mike, to the cab driver) staring straight ahead at the house, spilling with visitors.

     “Well, you can never be sure of anything but we still have to go inside,” he said compassionately, plucking the lock open.

     Their first interactions with the members of the wedding were not going on track when her aunt started with, “This should have been you getting married.” Ginny grimaced but nodded awkwardly which consequently prompted her aunt to continue, “You didn’t have to return the gravy boat, you know. And to think Trevor’s the best man.”

     At that, Ginny could not help but interrupt. She’d already taken the trip down memory lane this morning and got poison ivy on the way, she didn’t need another trip. “Have you met Mike?”

     After introductions had been made (Mike as a sports journalist and her boyfriend of 3 months), they went off to hang their jackets.

     When they were completely alone, Ginny informed Mike that she already wired the money straight to his bank account; all 6,000 dollars. “Oh, I trust you,” Mike said, a little indifferent.

     “No, check please.” Ginny again fidgeted with her dress, pulling on her lower lips.

     “All right,” he considered, raising an eyebrow at her unease but doing what she asked. After pulling up his bank information on his phone where Ginny indeed made the purchase, he explained, “I’ll cover expenses but if you want to be intimate, we talk money first.”

     “That won’t be a an issue. I'm a professional ballplayer, I don't need to pay for sex and I find the idea of sex for money morally repugnant.” Only after she rambled, did she think about how derogatory and disrespectful it sounded. She amended by apologizing and saying that she meant no offence.

     “Do me a favour, quit apologizing. If you look at this as a business transaction, maybe you won’t feel compelled to keep saying sorry.”

     “Sorry,” she accidentally blurted.

     “It’s also really annoying,” Mike pointed out.

     Just as she was about to apologize once again, Janet interrupted them. “Hi, honey,” her mom greeted her. “Three whole days with you! Can you imagine that?” She said excitedly.

     Ginny felt a pang of guilt at not spending more time with her. She knew her mom never really liked baseball. Particularly since Ginny was only 12 years old when baseball took her away from her mom and killed her marriage. Ginny tried reaching out more, she truly did. The only problem was that she couldn’t just fly out to see her mother often so she solved that by calling her a bunch of times a week. Those dwindled down, however, when  _ Kevin _ was the one to answer the phone when her mother was out of reach.

     Pushing that shame away, Ginny gratefully stepped into her mom’s hug. When she stepped back, her mom seemed to take notice of the not-so-young man at her daughter’s side. “And who might this be?” she inquired.

     “Hi, I’m the new guy, Mike Lawson,” he introduced himself smoothly and shook her hand. “It’s great to meet you.”

     Janet eyed him suspiciously but at her daughter’s look of warning, she simply said, “Nice to meet you.” She turned back to Ginny, apparently dismissing him. “This is a marathon, not a sprint,” she explained. “We’ve got welcome cocktails today then tomorrow is a full day at the park. Friday’s the picnic, then the rehearsal dinner and since you left no room for jet lag, I need you to hydrate,” she ended her monologue by handing Ginny a glass of wine.

     Her mom left them after that and they stood there for a few minutes alone, Ginny shyly glancing at Mike, a little awestruck, while he checked out the decorations.

     At the sound of what people could refer to as elephants barging in (at least in Ginny’s opinion), Ginny turned around and was greeted with skinny arms being wrapped around her and her sister, Cara, yelling excitedly in her ear. “G! Oooh! I’m getting married! Oh, Ginny!”

     “Hey!” Ginny said overwhelmed.

     “Oh, I missed you so much!” she cried. Then, as if noticing Mike for the first time, she lowered her voice a little and said, “Who’s the hunk huh? Nice.”

     Before Ginny had a chance to utter anything, Cara departed as fast and as loud as she came in. Ginny scratched her chin with uncertainty as she was left alone and met Mike’s curious eyes.

     She didn’t have a chance to explain to Mike her sister's swift nature when Will appeared out of nowhere. “Will,” she breathed, thankful that their relationship had mended after the whole money fiasco.

     “Hey, cheeseball!” Will hugged her, lifting her off the floor and twirling her. “And why haven’t we learned about you sooner?” He directed his comment at Mike but was chastising her.

     Noticing her drink was now empty (or maybe because he wanted the siblings to have their time to themselves), Mike offered to get more drinks. When they were alone, Will wasted no time in asking Ginny how she found him.

     “The yellow pages,” she replied in a joking manner. She was a terrible liar and there was no way she would be able to lie to Will. They simply knew the other too well. They caught up for a little bit, him updating her on the restaurant he was helping Ev with, her complaining good-naturedly about her teammates.

     "Welcome, friends and family. Kevin and I are so happy that you’re here to celebrate with us as we welcome Noah and the Caseys into our family." Janet interrupted Will's and Ginny's chat. "We always thought that we would marry off Ginny first.” Ginny looked down, feeling alone and miserable about what could have been. “We had good reason to hope because of her successful career, and we came pretty close once, but you all know, that crashed and burned.” Somewhere in the house, something crashed and disrupted her mother’s rambling. “Well, back to the bride and groom to be. Um… Noah, we are so glad that you fell in love with the girl next door. Our Cara. Congratulations!”

     People echoed the congratulations and soon they started mingling around. By that time, Mike finally joined Ginny’s side. He gave her a concerned look when he examined her face.

     Ginny just barely escaped to the bathroom before she let anyone know just how upset she truly was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: the pace of her reconnecting with her family was intentional.
> 
> I wanna thank everyone who's still reading and commenting, it means the world to me! I can't begin to explain how devastated I am about the news as many of you already know and feel the same way. Since the official cancellation and the rejection from Hulu, I haven't been inspired to write anything. However, I am extremely grateful for the episodes we do have and for the chance to meet Ginny. She will always be my favourite character.


	4. Chapter 4

     Channelling her game face, Ginny rolled her shoulders as if she was on the mound after throwing a wild pitch. She lifted her head, walked with purpose out of the bathroom and-- into Trevor.

     “Oh, my God, Ginny! Look at you!” Ginny heard her best friend, Evelyn, screech as she ran up the stairs toward them and interrupted what could have potentially been a disaster. She held Ginny at arms length and shook her slightly, as if she couldn’t believe that _the_ Ginny Baker was standing in front of her.

     “Look at me? Look at you!” Ginny responded. They hugged tightly then suddenly Ev turned on Trevor.

     “Hey, asshole,” she greeted while Ginny cringed. _This day could literally not get any worse._ “Since you fucked up your relationship with my best friend brutally, you won’t mind if I steal her away, will you?” she chastised. _Apparently it could._ She didn’t wait for his reply but instead threw out a thanks over her shoulder while dragging Ginny in tow.

     “You didn’t have to do that,” Ginny sighed at Ev when she released her among the party guests.

     “Gi, I wasn’t saving you from him, I was saving you from yourself,” Ev said, distractedly.

     “Did he bring a date?” Ginny didn’t know why she was torturing herself, but dammit she needed to know.

     “Okay we’re done with this.” Evelyn snapped at her and as if in a trance, she said, “Why are you wasting time on him when you have _the_ Mike Lawson waiting for you over there?”

     Ginny almost gasped. That’s it; her life is over. If Ev knew who Mike was then who’s to say who knew him as well. Just before Ginny had a full blown panic attack, however, Ev continued, “He’s the best sports journalist in, probably, the world. He occasionally plays baseball with Blip and the kids.”

     Trying to deflect, Ginny inquired, “Where are Blip and the kids anyway?” She plucked a glass of wine from a passing waiter, trying to numb her nerves a little.

     Ev, with her eyes locked on Mike’s form, talking to a bunch of her family members, explained, “They’re at home, playing video games. I’m getting a day off to enjoy myself. You’ll see them soon enough tomorrow at the park, anyway.” She finally turned her focused eyes on Ginny. “Can we talk girl stuff now? Please? Did you get to see Mike’s junk?”

     Ginny snorted that sip of wine she accidentally inhaled at Ev’s lack of shame. Ginny was mortified at Ev’s brazen personality but it shouldn’t have surprised her. She’d known Ev all her life. A few years apart couldn’t have dulled her preparation to dealing with Evelyn. She reasoned that Mike and her plan were putting her on edge today.

     They got caught up then Ev started blabbering about missing the boys. She bid Ginny goodbye and promised to see her tomorrow.

     Later, when Ginny and Mike were sitting together at the bar in peaceful silence, Cara and Noah decided to join them. In the few minutes they spent together, Ginny and Mike got roped into joining the to-be-married couple’s dance lessons. When Ginny offered to help, Mike looked at her in apprehension. She smiled at him, trying to put him at ease. To her dismay, he relaxed against her.

* * *

     Mike knew he shouldn’t have subjected himself to this trip with Baker. _The_ Ginny Baker. Jesus. He couldn’t believe the lengths he’d go through. Throughout his career, he’d been answering questions about her forever in his articles. He had tried to be subjective and write about the facts only. But the facts were: what she’s doing, what she’s had to take on kind of blew him away. In both of his careers, he’d seen a lot of rookies come and go (and despite Ginny not being a rookie anymore, Mike couldn’t stop thinking of her as such) but he’d never seen one like her. He’d also never had the pleasure of working with her (or in this case: for her).

     He was contemplating the whole ordeal when he walked in on Trevor Davis’ what looked like a pity party. Mike was not in the mood for the Cardinal’s catcher, but before he was able to slip back into the party unnoticed, Davis startled and called out Mike’s name.

     Mike turned back around with a smile. “Davis,” he acknowledged.

     They made easy, small talk where Mike inquired about Davis’ baseball career and Davis returned the favour by asking him about his journalism career.

     Apparently Trevor had not seen Ginny and Mike come in together or had assumed that Mike was invited through the Sanders’ because he jolted when Ginny came out with a devious look in her clear eyes and attacked Mike with a kiss that gave him a run for his money. Despite Mike knowing she was playing him (and it was his job, anyway) he still pulled out all the stops. She paid generously to get the boyfriend experience, and that’s what he needed to deliver.

     But Mike was not letting her take the lead. He slowed the kiss down to a gentle rhythm, giving each of them time to explore before he coaxed her mouth open. She sucked in a sharp breath when their tongues met. They broke apart, coming up for air while Ginny made a conscious effort to not follow his lips. They stared at each other with heated glances.

     “Hey, Ginny,” Trevor tried to interject himself between the entwined couple. “Hey, Ginny,” he repeated, hoping this time to break up Mike and Ginny’s eye contact.

     “Oh, hey, yourself,” Ginny turned briefly to look at Trevor then went back to look at Mike with raised eyebrows, silently asking for an explanation. “I see you met my ex.”

     “I was just telling Davis how we met.”

     Ginny hummed, expecting him to continue.

     When it was apparent that Mike wasn’t getting any help from Ginny, he provided, “When I was doing an article on you.”

     “Oh, yes,” Ginny was just barely able to hide a wince and Mike wondered what he did wrong this time.

     “Ginny, you hate being interviewed.” Ginny just shrugged and looked at Mike again, playing the honeymoon eyes. Trevor turned on Mike and challenged, “I don’t remember reading anything specific about Ginny in your journals.”

     “That’s because I decided not to publish it,” Mike lied glibly.

     Trevor excused himself and left to join the party. Immediately, Ginny gave Mike all of her attention. “He looked miserable. What were you talking about?”

     “He seemed a little drunk,” Mike offered. “But I think he’s still crazy about you.”

     Ginny contemplated that for the rest of the day.


	5. Chapter 5

     Ginny didn’t give herself a chance to think about their kiss. She put it out of her mind as a plot to make Trevor jealous. She never expected to feel anything with Mike and although that myth got debunked, she was not wasting her time questioning things with him while she was still hung up on Trevor. Especially since her fake relationship with Mike had an expiry date.

     “Thanks again for having me,” Mike gracefully said to her mom and Kevin, after bringing all their luggage up to Ginny’s front door.

     “Don’t be silly. It’s wonderful to meet you,” Janet panted slightly from carrying the handbag up. “Although technically, I never knew you existed,” she considered.

     Thinking that part came out wrong and noticing the discomfort it brought Ginny, Kevin interjected, “Come on, Janet.”

     Ginny grounded her teeth but refused to give any other outward display that she heard him rescuing her. Breezing past that, Ginny asked, “Where’s Mike sleeping?” She turned to Mike and explained, “Ma has this rule about sharing when there’s no ring involved...”

     “Don’t be silly,” Janet interrupted. Completely ignoring Ginny’s panicked glare (she just kissed her fake boyfriend for the first time, she didn’t want to share a bed with him!), she turned to Mike and told him she wouldn’t mind. Under normal circumstances, she would have. But seeing as her daughter finally brought a man home, Janet was ecstatic that this might be going somewhere.

     When they entered her childhood room, Mike was assaulted by journal articles covering her walls. A closer inspection revealed that they were mostly (if not all) his own articles. He turned to smirk at her.

     “We had a journalist exchange student a few years back,” Ginny was quick to point out. She wanted to wipe that stupid smirk right off his stupid face. “He must have left it all here.”

     “Sure. Yeah, let's go with that.” He hummed.

     “We will go with that. That’s the truth,” she said, rather exasperatedly.

     After setting up the sleeping arrangement (where Ginny told him on which side of the bed he’ll be sleeping on after he gave her no preference), Mike finally had the courage to ask her about Trevor. He reasoned that everyone related to Ginny seemed to know about him yet there was never anything in the press. No news channel or magazine or paper ever mentioned them together. This intrigued Mike. Because he was her pretend boyfriend. Because pretend boyfriends need to know about previous relationships.

     When he confronted her about the Cardinal’s catcher, however, she only said that they were briefly engaged and gingerly hinted at them playing together back in the minors.

     “You’re choosing your words carefully,” he pointed out as he laid on his side of the bed.

     She shrugged but confirmed, “I am choosing my words carefully. Every choice I make, I have to think about.” She continued, as if speaking to herself as she fluffed her pillow before sitting on the bed.

     Mike’s heart broke at the woman who was thrust into the limelight at such a young age. Not only was she greeted with paparazzi at every turn, she was also welcomed with vile and vicious teammates and doubting talking heads along the way. He’d seen a great deal of news and media coverage to gather the brutal life she had to go through to get where she was.

     “So, when you were talking to Trevor earlier, how did he sound?” she asked tentatively.

     “Like a self-absorbed toolbox,” Mike replied in a serious tone.

     “Lawson!” She hit him with a pillow half-heartedly.

     He thought of the look Trevor had before he came up to him and replied honestly, “He sounded tormented.” Mike turned to sleep on his other side.

     Unsatisfied with his answer, she asked, “Tormented? How? Like he’s... jealous that I’m here with someone else, or like...” she fidgeted, trying to come up with the right words, “he regrets throwing away our life together?” When Mike gave no indication that he was still awake, she pondered, “It’s just that… this hasn’t really turned out the way that I thought it would.” She lay down on the bed, as far away from Mike as possible. Ginny rubbed her nose on her pillow, thinking about the way Trevor spoke to Mike before she interrupted. Her hoarse voice sounded even deeper when she whispered, as if it pained her, “He seems more mature.”

     Ginny lost almost half the night as she tossed and turned, trying to discard all the fantasies she used to have of her and Trevor. Truthfully, she thought that she was beyond this stage. She speculated that seeing him again in person trudged up all those feelings back to the surface.

     The next day, Mike found himself alone in Baker's bed. He looked around and found her stretching, her pear shaped, lycra-covered ass up in the air (for his viewing pleasure) and her hands gripping her sock-covered feet. She startled out of her pose when she heard the sheets rustling on the bed and turned to face him with a smile.

     “Good morning,” he croaked out, his voice thick and husky from sleep.

     “Morning,” she replied softly. “I'm going on a run. You're welcome to join me if you want.”

     “Just give me a few minutes, and I'll be ready.” Mike stretched a little, ignoring his cracking joints and looked at the clock. “Jesus,” he muttered. “It's not even 5am yet. Why are you up so early?”

     “I've got biology working against me; I need to work harder than everyone else,” she said offhandedly as if that was a practiced line she'd said a million times. She probably did. Mike didn't even want to point out the obvious that it's her off season, so he got off the bed, grabbed shorts and a shirt from his suitcase and headed for the bathroom.

     After their quiet run which Mike surprisingly kept up the pace which Ginny set, they got back to the house and Mike excused himself to make a call. Ginny thought nothing of it as she stretched and tried not to eavesdrop. It was none of her business as it wasn’t hindering his performance nor was he ignoring his responsibilities as her fake boyfriend. Yet it still bothered her. Ginny didn’t think he was hiding a secret girlfriend, but the thought that he was hiding something from her rubbed her the wrong way. Despite having kissed him, she wasn’t his real girlfriend, she knew that, therefore she didn’t have any qualms as to why she would be entitled to know facts about him (he was just her male escort for fuck’s sake). The thought that she knew next to nothing about Mike Lawson made her feel a little uncomfortable as she was baring her life to him, but she recalled the signed NDA and come Sunday this relationship, or whatever it is, will go away and Mike Lawson will be out of her life.

     Ginny shook off her desolate mood and went into the house to shower first.


	6. Chapter 6

     Despite Janet’s protests, Cara really wanted the family to play baseball. She was making an effort to cheer up Ginny and have her be comfortable in order make up for the fact that the best man was her ex-fiance. And on some level, she wanted Ginny to feel like she still belonged with the family. After her father, Kevin, married Janet, the sisters had trouble connecting. Cara speculated that it was partially (if not mostly) due to Ginny’s work schedule. Nonetheless, she still made the effort.

     “Wouldn’t having you on a team be an advantage? Like a gigantic advantage?” Mike pointed out as they languidly made their way across the field to the crowd on the other side.

     “Lawson’s been keeping tabs on me, huh?” Ginny gave him a meaningful, suggestive look.

     “Well, the whole world’s been gushing about _Ginny Baker_. And it’s literally my job to know about ballplayers.”

     “Hmm,” Ginny wanted to push him more, but she relented. She wasn’t sure they were at the point in their relationship where the able to tease him was acceptable just yet. Instead she replied, almost impassively, “The other team’s gonna have Trevor playing for them so that evens things out.”

     Now it was Mike’s turn to hum unconvincingly. Before Ginny had a chance to ask him what _that_ was about, they reached her family members and the rest of the wedding party.

     “Blip!” Ginny saw Blip and almost ran up to him. He was just as excited to see her again because he lifted her up in a hug and spun them.

     “I can’t believe we’re finally seeing Ginny Baker’s big ol’ bubble butt over here!” Blip mocked as he set her down. Ginny just smiled at him warmly. Just then, he noticed Mike and greeted him with a hug. “Man, I haven’t seen you in forever!”

     Mike laughed and hugged Blip back. When they broke apart, Mike placed his arm around Ginny. Blip playfully scowled back and forth at the couple. “I can’t believe I didn’t hear about this sooner.”

     “It’s new,” Ginny explained.

     “How do you even know Ginny?” Mike directed at Blip. She was grateful for his distraction as she snaked her arm around his waist.

     “I came up through the system with this girl.” Blip boasted fondly.

     “We did almost a full season together here, actually. What was that, like three years back now?”

     “Yeah, that’s right. Until you got called up by the Padres, became an All-Star, and permanently abandoned my ass,” he said jokingly. Despite his tone, he remembered watching Ginny’s first start and being bombarded by media for every little thing she did. Not because she was in the spotlight as a new player but because of her gender. A fact that Blip knew Ginny wanted everyone to overlook.

     Just before Ginny had a chance to reply, Blip’s twin boys ran up to where she stood and yelled, “Uncle Mike! Aunt Ginny!” They both greeted the kids and Evelyn as she ambled towards the couple.

     The party got divided up into teams and chose positions to play and Mike only protested when someone asked him to play first. He seemed to have a personal vendetta towards the position because he stressed how much he didn’t want to play it. Instead, he chose catcher and the party surrounding them babbled and bantered about how her ex boyfriend as well as her current boyfriend favoured that position. That Ginny Baker 'has a type’. She ignored them just as effectively as she ignored the press and paparazzi.

     Ginny didn’t expect anything from Mike as a catcher. Sure, he was a sports journalist and previously an agent but usually they don’t have much experience on the field. But boy was she in for a surprise.

     Although this was just a friendly family game, everyone playing got a front row seat to Ginny’s and Mike's intense game energy. They were on fire as Ginny threw a variety of pitches from her arsenal while Mike caught each ball as a strike. Their heated and silent communications had the party feeling strangely left out and awkwardly uninvited to the sexual glances that charged the air between the pitcher and catcher.

     The only person who complained about having both Ginny and Mike on one team was Trevor. He was happily ignored by everyone.

     Ginny was enjoying herself immensely, much more than she anticipated (probably because she didn't account for Mike to be such a great match for her-- catcher-wise), but when Trevor stood in the batter box ready to take a swing, Ginny's stomach dropped.

     She remembered when she used to play with him as her catcher. Almost the same distance as she was standing. Ready for his signal, trusting his call more than she trusted herself. She should thank him, really. Without him, she would have blindly trusted her catchers to make the call instead of being confident enough to shake off a bunch of his shitty calls. Nonetheless, having him look at her with the same intensity he used to when they played against each other set her on edge. It shook her so much that she threw a wild pitch. She didn't have to see Mike's face to know he was disappointed. She was furious at herself. She hadn't thrown a wild pitch since she was a rookie, which was about two years ago.

     The umpire, Kevin, called it a strike and Ginny watched as Trevor's eyes narrowed. She bet he was gritting his teeth, trying really hard not to make a scene.

     Ginny took a deep breath, centered herself then exhaled as she released the ball into a strike. She could almost see Mike's smirk behind the mask and wondered how she already knew all his tells and expressions. Trevor cursed then glared at her, waiting for her to release another pitch. When he got another strike she was beaming so much that she almost didn't see Mike charging at her. She jumped into his arms just in time and laughed while he twirled her.

     And maybe it was the adrenaline. Or maybe it was the fact that she wanted to make Trevor jealous. Or maybe it was the fact that she wanted to taste his lips again to make sure they really were that soft last time. But as she leaned her face down and Mike tilted his up, they were kissing.

     And maybe she was putting on a show for her family. Yes, that's the excuse she used when she explained to Mike how a video of them kissing made its way to the internet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about this chapter. It definitely could be better, but with exams I didn't have much time for editing, but I really wanted to post one. Please let me know what you think and I really do hope you all enjoy this chapter! <3 ps my knowledge of baseball is in the negatives!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think here or on tumblr [@mindykahling](http://mindykahling.tumblr.com/)!


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